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Do you want to know how to fund a nomadic lifestyle of camping and traveling? What an adventure it would be! Unfortunately however, we are all constrained by the need to pay the weekly bills so for many of us this remains an illusive dream. Here are loads of information and tips about how you might actually be able to fund life on the road.

Steps

1

Start by paying off your debts. Before you set off on your camping odyssey of a lifetime you will need to start from a level playing field. This means paying off your debts. There are many tools out there to help you and many schemes available to help take control of your personal finances so you can start planning how you might be able to afford your dream.

2

Investigate ways of saving money while traveling. Camping and traveling can get quite expensive (no surprises there!). There are lots to think about, but with extra planning there’s always money to be saved. The best approach is to take each type of expense and look at ways of reducing them from the very start.

Campsite fees stack up quickly but schemes like Britstops, Camp in My Garden and France Passion allow you to pitch up for free or for a minimal amount around the UK and Europe, with similar schemes around the rest of the world.

Diesel isn’t getting any cheaper but you can investigate ways of making bio-diesel for half the price.

Seasonal farm work allows you to trade a day of labour for enough vegetables, milk and bread to keep you going for a few days. Very handy if you want to keep to a limited shopping budget. A useful website for this is Gumtree.

If the farm schemes aren’t available go foraging. A lot of food can be found in the hedgerows or fields but make sure you have a good book with clear pictures to guide you about safe foods to harvest.

If you’re brave enough you can hunt and fish for your tea, so make sure you have the right gear before setting off.

Many people go dumpster diving behind supermarkets, which often throw out perfectly good food, but there are obvious risks to this activity.

Think about guerilla gardening when you visit towns and cities, and keep your eyes open for vegetables growing in public places.

Before setting off think about renewable energy. Not only is it good for the environment but if invested in early it will leave you with a continuous supply of electricity and an added benefit of being able to wild camp for free.

If you need to buy equipment for your journey or replace it while you’re on the road, think about visiting recycling areas, car boot sales, charity shops and pre-loved websites that sell goods at a fraction of mainstream shop prices.

If you need to access the Internet there are plenty of cafes, libraries and pubs you can visit with free wifi.

3

Think of ways to earn a living on the road.

Before you leave take stock of your skills and experience. Any skill in demand can be useful but it’s important that you build an image of trust for whoever may want to use your expertise.

Have professional business cards and a resume with references to hand.

If you think a particular skill would be useful to you, then get the training before you set off.

4

Have as many income streams as possible. A nomadic life camping and traveling can be tough, and funding it can be even tougher. But the best way to stay strong is to have a number of fiddles to your bow, to diversify and to have a varied portfolio. In other words, it’s important to have as many income streams as possible, so when one dips another one will hopefully take its place.

Find a Job. A temporary job or local seasonal employment may be all you need to keep your bank balance healthy. There are even websites that target people living full time in an RV and looking for work.

Entertain. Can you play music, or do you have an entertaining act up your sleeve? There are many jobs available to those who can entertain and make people happy. As you will often be working with children it is always advisable to have a certificate from the Criminal Records Bureau to hand for any potential employers. Alternatively you can simply busk or play music or perform acts in town centres and at festivals. However, you may need to get permission from the land owner or local council to do this otherwise you may be moved on.

Write. There are a number of ways you can make a living if writing is your thing. You can:

Become a freelance writer and sell your work as you travel.

Set up a blog. This isn’t a get rich quick scheme, but if done properly it can produce a steady income. However, as there are so many elements to making money through a blog and ways it can be done the best thing to do is start from the beginning and invest in a training programme from an expert that can help you on your way quickly.

Produce and sell access to an online magazine about a subject you specialise in. Some VW Magazines that have got it right are AirMonkeys and Aircooled Classics.

Publish and sell an instructional book or fictional story as an eBook. A brilliant independent publishing house for this is Smashwords. It’s free as they only take a small percentage of your sales so there’s absolutely no up front fees. If you don’t like the idea of just offering electronic books then you can organise paperback books, with no upfront fees at Lulu.

Write reviews for places you visit or products you use. These don’t earn much but if you get in the habit they can help pay the bills, but make sure you note the point below.

Surprisingly enough you can be paid for filling out surveys too. Be warned though there are a few rogue sites doing this so be careful and make sure you do your research before handing any personal or payment details over.

Sell your photographs. Are you good at taking pictures? Have you ever thought of selling them? Rather than spreading them for free all over Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter (who may sell them on your behalf and not give you a percentage), you may want to sell them through a stock agency instead. The most popular are Shutterstock, Fotolia and iStock Photo.

Teach. If you have a knack at getting your point across think about teaching while you are on the road. There are many schemes such as TEFL that allow you to get paid very reasonable fees to teach while on the road.

Build an app. With the development of mobile devices apps have never been in such high demand. However, don’t be fooled into thinking you need to be a computer programmer to do this. All you actually need is a great idea. Then with investment in an app developer this could help you bring in a very nice regular income.

Sell your skills online. If you have a skill then you can guarantee that someone, somewhere will want to pay you money for you to help them out. It may be graphic design, article writing, web design, office skills, photography, business advice, crafts, gifts, etc. The key is making the connection with the person who wants your skills or needs your expertise. This is where websites such as 99Designs, Etsy and PeoplePerHour can help out.

Sell your products online. If you have a product that can be easily sold while you are on the road, then websites such as eBay and Amazon are perfect for bringing in a regular income. The key is to set it all up before you go on the road so you have less to think about when your Internet access isn’t as reliable as you would like.

Be creative. If your roadtrip is interesting enough with a lot of positive outcomes, it may be an interesting concept to start a Kickstarter Project. This is where projects can request donations for funding.

5

Get a plan ‘B’. Thinking of how to fund a nomadic lifestyle is only a small part of getting on the road. Being a nomad isn’t for everyone. Neither is camping full-time, even if it is in a VW campervan, RV, motorhome or luxury Airstream caravan. It’s important to be prepared about what life on the road will actually mean, and what you’re plan ‘B’ is if it doesn’t work out for you.